Covers the major historical problems of China in the twentieth century, namely imperialism, nationalism, state-building, religion and the role of history from the perspective of global and regional circulations and interactions.

Prasenjit Duara is Director of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.

Introduction Part 1: Nationalism and Imperialism 1. The Global and Regional Constitution of Nations: The View from East Asia 2. The Imperialism of "Free Nations": Japan, Manchukuo, and the History of the Present 3. Historical Narratives and Trans-nationalism in East Asia Part 2: Society and Religion 4. Superscribing Symbols: The Myth of Guandi, Chinese God of War Ch 5: Deconstructing China: How Recent is the Chinese nation? 6. 'Tradition within Modernity': Women and Patriarchal Regimes in Inter-war East Asia Part 3: China in Comparative Perspective 7. Between Sovereignty and Capitalism: The Historical Experiences of Migrant Chinese 8. Critics of Modernity in India and China 9. Visions of History, Trajectories of Power: China and India since Decolonization